Americans still left baffled by failure to take their chances
AMERICAN stars were yesterday at a loss to explain why Europe continues to dominate the Ryder Cup.
The United States have won just twice – on home soil in 2004 and 2016 – in the last two decades, but are favourites for victory over the Europeans at Whistling Straits this week.
Rookie Patrick Cantlay was one of those to be asked about why Americans are so often left disappointed at Ryder Cups, and suggested it was largely down to chance, much like a card game.
‘So I’ve read a few gin books,’ he said. ‘If you play enough gin hands a one or two per cent difference in skill translates to almost an assured win over many, many, many hands of gin.
‘But you could have a big difference between somebody, maybe a 60 to 40 per cent skill level difference, and gin is still chancy enough to where you could play ten hands and lose six or seven to someone that’s much worse than you skill-wise.
‘These (Ryder Cup) matches are only played every two years and golf is very chancy. So would it surprise you if the US went on a similar run to what Europe has been on for the next 20 years? Wouldn’t surprise me.’
One man in the American team in Wisconsin who was not even a professional when the Ryder Cup was last played is Collin Morikawa. The brilliant 24-year-old has taken the golfing world by storm in the last two years, claiming victories at the 2020 US Open and 2021 Open Championship.
Morikawa is also bemused when it comes to the recent American record at this event, saying: ‘It is puzzling how we have lost a lot. But that’s the past. We are about the present and the future. Hopefully we can turn the tide in our favour.’ Dustin Johnson has played in four Ryder Cups, and only once – at Hazeltine five years ago – has he been on the winning side. The 37-year-old world No.2 feels there is something different about this week, with six rookies in the home team.
‘It is definitely a little different, with us all being a little younger, but we still have a lot of experience. The dynamic is great,’ he said. ‘We all get along and have had a great time so far.
‘Being the oldest is a little strange for me. I guess I am the veteran on the team but all the guys are good players so I don’t really have to do much.’
And Johnson gave a more straightforward view as to why Europe have won so much. ‘They just play better,’ he said. ‘It’s really simple. Whoever plays better is going to win. It’s not rocket science.’